I don't own this. *sits in corner and cries*
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Stupid. Dumb. Idiot. What were you thinking, Dummy?
Clary was mentally slapping herself over and over and over. She was physically incapable of flirting, and yet she tried anyway. And epically failed. Like, majorly. He laughed at her.
What was she even doing trying to flirt with some guy? She had way too much to deal with on a daily basis without adding a needy, overly confident, whiny man into the equation. She didn't want any of that. Her mind was made up; the next time she saw him, she was canceling. When in doubt, back out.
But then again, what was the harm in one date? Mattie could stay with the elderly woman across the hall and she could get a free dinner.
Wow, that was cold. Now she was freeloading? No, she didn't do that. Ever. She worked for what she got, and she worked damn hard for it. Clary never took anything for granted and she never took anything for free.
When Mrs. Fairchild babysat Matthew for whatever reason, Clary always made sure to pay. Sometimes it was cash; sometimes she helped the older woman clean and cook. But no matter what, Clary always paid. She was so grateful for the older woman; she was the grandmother that Matthew didn't have. Not like parents wanted to see Matthew. Not like they cared. And his other grandparents? Forget it.
Clary pulled Matthew off to the side and stepped into the small grocery store. Just like everything in my life, Clary mused, tiny and relatively unnoticed. Not that she was complaining, and not that she was bitter. It's just, well; the irony wasn't lost on her. Clary quickly assembled what she needed, tugging Matthew along behind her, patiently refusing all of his superfluous requests.
"No, you may not have candy."
"No, you may not buy that bag of chips."
"No, you may not have that."
Being a mother was very tiring sometimes.
Fifty bucks and three heavily laden paper bags later, Clary and Matthew were walking towards home again. Mattie carried the lightest of the three bags, and she juggled the other two while still trying to hold Matthew's hand. He had a tendency to wander.
All at once, Clary's head was cracking up off of the ground, the brown paper bags splayed across the cool sidewalk, their contents unceremoniously dumped on the ground. Matthew was lying beside her crying. By the time she looked up and realized what happened, the men were gone, and all she could see was a dark-haired boy sneering at her and flash of white-blonde hair disappearing into the crowed.
"Watch where you're going, old lady!" The dark-haired one called back in a mocking tone and Clary felt a flash of rage pass through her body. Old lady? You're probably older than I am!
She sighed and gathered Mattie into her arms, anxiously checking him over for injuries. She gently kissed the large abrasion on his knee; it was bleeding profusely and would definitely need to be cleaned and bandaged. Until then, she took off the dark gray t-shirt she was wear, leaving her in a white tank top, and blotted at the cut. She tried to murmur comforting words to her son, but he was too shaken up to calm down for the moment. Spectators started to move around them, satisfied that the action was over, but only one stopped to help.
"Assholes." The man knelt down in front of them and gathered the groceries into the bags for them. Clary looked up in a daze and saw Jace staring at her curiously. "What happened?" He asked in a sift voice.
"I don't… I don't know." She put a hand to her temple and pulled it back, a miniscule trickle of blood from where she hit the ground was slipping down the side of her face. Jace touched careful fingers to it, trying to stop the blood flow. "I'm fine, really." She touched the inside of his wrist and pushed his hand away, but Jace just shook his head.
"No, you're not. You really nailed your head, plus, you're bleeding. I think you should go to the hospital."
She shook her head adamantly. "No, no hospitals. Where's Matthew? He hurt himself." Clary went to move to find him, but the sudden movement caused her world to spin and shake. She sat back down and steadied herself, and Jace deposited Mattie in her lap. Clary wrapped her arms around him and rocked her son back and forth for a few moments to calm him. Matthew slipped his thumb into his mouth and his tears finally abated. Jace sat back on his heels and watched with a masked face as Clary stood Matt up and then struggled to her feet.
"Clary, I really think that you should go to the hospital… You probably have a concussion."
"I said no hospitals," she snapped, "I just need to go home and take some Motrin. Where's my stuff at?" She looked around confusedly, but the three bags were already perfectly balanced in Jace's arms.
"If you're not going to the hospital, then I'm going home with you to make sure you don't die in your sleep." Matthew looked up at his mother's face with sheer terror at the thought of her death. Jace met her obstinate gaze with a triumphant expression. After a few moments, Clary sighed and relented.
"Fine," she said wearily. "I live this way." She lifted Matthew into her arms and carried him the remaining ten blocks to their apartment. When she finally reached the small dwelling, Clary was huffing and puffing like the big bag wolf, but she managed to wheeze out, "You're getting too heavy to do that anymore, Bud." Matthew continued sucking his thumb as he nestled his head against Clary's neck.
"Come on; slide down so Mommy can get the key." Matthew tiredly shimmied to the floor and Clary swung the door wide open, allowing Matthew to race into the couch and collapse on top of it. Clary motioned for Jace to put the groceries on the kitchen table as she went to the bathroom closet and retrieved the first aid kit. She stretched a towel out below Mattie and cautiously dripped peroxide on the wound, causing Matthew to jump and shriek.
"That's enough, Matthew, it doesn't hurt that bad." Mattie sighed and sucked his thumb, settling into the couch and squeezing his eyes tightly closed. Clary quickly dabbed the blood and excess anti-septic away and wrapped a gauze bandage around his knee. She stood and walked to the freezer, grabbed a pineapple popsicle, gave it to Mattie and turned the television on. Somewhat content, Matthew focused on the antics of Tom and Jerry, leaving Clary to put away the groceries.
She jumped a little when she felt strong hands gently pushing on her back, guiding her to the kitchen and lifting her to slight body onto one of the three barstools.
"It's your turn to be fixed up." He murmured as those soft strong hands eased her hair back away from her face. He reached for the peroxide and dampened a washcloth with the strong-smelling liquid and brushed it across the gash on her forehead. He looked concerned as he continued cleaning it off and placed a large band-aid over it.
His eyes widened and a low whistle brushed across her face. "You're going to have quite a goose egg, Sweetheart." He took her face in his hands. "Look at the tip of my nose." She complied as he took his cell phone out and waved it in front of her face. "Yep, you definitely might have a concussion." He smirked.
She hopped down off of the stool in irritation. "What are you, a doctor?"
His eyes lit up, amused at her reaction. "Well, sort of. It's what I'm going to school for, so…" he trailed off. She blushed a little as she placed the gallon of milk in the beat up fridge.
"Well thanks for your concern, but I'm fine. Really. You can go now." Clary looked pointedly at the door, and Jace just chuckled.
"You're crazy. I'm staying right here for a few hours. I'm not letting you use death as an excuse for backing out of our date on Sunday." He shook his head in mock sadness when he spoke. "That would not help my self-confidence at all."
"Oh, trust me. Your self-confidence needs no help at all." She rolled her eyes and grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and tossed one to him. He caught it then clutched at his chest, his face in a mask of horror.
"Oh, the emotional pain suffered at the hands of the rapier wit of Clarissa Fray." He fell back onto the stool, his eyes wide and full of mirth. Clary rolled her eyes again as she searched for the bottle of Motrin.
"Are you by chance looking for this?" Jace asked teasingly, waving the white bottle just out of her reach. She stood feet apart, one hand on her hip, and the other extended out in front of her. Clary's eyebrow was raised in a harsh glare, and Jace pretended to gulp in fear.
"Please, not the 'Mom Glare!'" He pretended to plead with her, even going so far as to kneel before her and shake his folded hands. Clary rolled her eyes and allowed a small smile as she plucked the bottle from his hands.
Jace jumped to his feet and shouted, "Aha! A smile from Clary Fray. I can die a happy man."
"You're so obnoxious," Clary stated around a mouthful of ibuprofen.
"But the ladies love it." Jace retorted as he pulled her towards him for a soft kiss. When their lips met, Clary gasped a little, whether from shock or pleasure, Jace didn't know. He didn't particularly care either; he had dreamed about doing this since he met her.
And it was perfect. He loosely gripped her shoulders and moved his lips against hers, sensing that she was enjoying this too. Clary lifted her arms around Jace's neck and pulled him a little closer, wanting to be held. When they pulled back to breathe, Clary looked deep within Jace's eyes and saw a passion similar to the one that she knew she was exuding.
"What was that?" She whispered.
"Something amazing." Jace whispered back. Then he pressed his lips to hers again, gaining more and more heat and passion as the seconds ticked past. A soft whimper got caught in Jace's throat, but he pushed it back. Real men don't whimper. He ran his hands through Clary's long, silky, fiery red hair and crushed her to him.
"Is this…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"What? Is the great Jace Wayland speechless? Mark this day down in history!" She taunted playfully. Her arms went around his waist and she leaned her head against his chest. Jace moved her heavy hair away from her neck and brushed open-mouth kisses along the soft skin he found there. She tasted like grapefruit and strawberry.
Delicious.
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Jace ended up staying for lunch. And dinner. And a movie. They talked for hours, getting to know each other. Favorite colors, movies, foods, books, styles – almost everything. It was only when Clary realized that she had to go to work in an hour that Jace realized he should probably leave.
"So, is this our first date?" Jace called to Clary as he was getting ready to walk out the door. She was in the bathroom, dressing in her very flattering dark blue dress and sneakers. When she emerged, her curly hair was restrained in a high ponytail that swung back and forth with every step she took. He smiled as she pretended to deliberate.
"If you think a five year old should is a suitable chaperone, then yes, this was our first date." She smiled at his petulant look when she mentioned a chaperone. Clary called over her shoulder for Matthew to hurry from his bedroom.
"I'm going to walk you there." Jace stated with a note of finality in his voice. "I don't want you to walk by yourself."
"I've been doing it for five years now, Jace." Clary replied.
"Not when you have a concussion. What time do you get off? I'll pick you up so you don't have to walk." Clary started to shake her head, but Jace interrupted her. "Come on, my Aston Martin has got to beat walking twenty blocks."
"Well, I don't get off until three. That's silly for you to-"
"I don't go to bed until four." He flashed her a pearly white grin. He wasn't taking no for an answer. She rolled her eyes (he noticed that she did that frequently; normally it annoyed him, but on her it was just sexy) but Jace knew he had her. Even though she had escaped serious injury today, that fact that she was deliberately knocked down had her shaken up.
"You're making me feel really guilty." Clary told him as she slipped Matthew into his coat. "I can't pay you back!"
"Pay me back by letting me take you out on Sunday," he insisted, "After the day we spent together today, I can only imagine what a real date will be like."
Clary shook her head and smiled ruefully. As she lifted Mattie up, she noticed that he was still sucking his thumb, and she gently detached his finger from his mouth.
"You know you're not supposed to suck your thumb anymore, Mattie. It's bad for your teeth." Matthew tried to pay attention, he really did, but he was so sleepy that he couldn't focus on her words. His head just lolled against his mommy's shoulder and she sighed.
"I wish I didn't have to take him." She said under her breath just as Jace said "Are you sure you want to take him with you?"
"What did you say?" They both asked at the same time.
"Well, I was just thinking that it's too bad you have to take him to work with you. Maybe I could walk you guys to Taki's, go get my car, come back for Mattie and bring him here, put him to bed and then pick you up at three?" Jace's voice was earnest, but Clary had a hard time buying it. The last time a man acted like he was interested in Mattie, he was just trying to get in her pants.
"I don't know about that," she started reluctantly.
"No, think about it. This is ideal." Jace clapped his hands with relish, "You don't have to worry about Matt tonight. I can stay here with him so that you don't take him to the diner with you. He can sleep in his own bed and be comfortable." Jace was trying to be as persuasive as possible. For once in his life, he wasn't just interested in having sex with a girl; he really wanted to get to know her. He wanted to be on her good side, and he wanted a relationship with both her and her son. "I'll just stay here and watch another movie or something. When I pick you up, I'll bring Matt along so he's not home alone, but he doesn't have to wake up or anything. He can just sleep in the car. See? My plan is good."
Clary looked down to see Matthew tugging on her sleeve. "Mommy, please can I stay with Jace? I don't want to go to Taki's." He rubbed at his eyes sleepily and Clary's heart broke.
She sighed and nodded. "Okay. Alright, you win." She leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of his little head. "You two ganged up on me!" She accused.
Jace guided her to the door and winked at her. "You just fell prey to the Wayland charm is all. Don't worry, better men than you have tried and failed."
Clary tried to be mad at him for that arrogant statement, but the twinkle in his eyes made her heart melt. She was falling hard, and she was falling fast.
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Major props to anyone who caught the two hints I dropped in this chapter and last chapter. I will give a HUGE spoiler to anyone who guesses correctly. Leave it in the reviews.
A moderately large spoiler if you can spot my clever moment with names in this chapter.
Hehehe… I love this game! It makes me feel really evil. :]
Chapter four is now yours for the enjoyment. Hope you liked it. Honestly, this was mostly filler and supposed to be a little fluffy. I listened to a lot of Safetysuit, The Script, Mayday Parade, and Taylor Swift when I wrote this. If you're looking for a little inspiration, go check those bands out.
Everyone should check out the story Shadowboxer by nobloodnofoul. It's a Twilight fic and it's absolutely amazing. It's rated M for a reason though. LanguagexLemons.
Question time:
What music do you listen to for inspiration?
What do you think will happen in the next two Mortal Instruments books?
As always, anyone who reviews will receive a personal reply with a spoiler for the next chapter.
Peace and Love,
SpeakNow1118